Fever days in Havana

The author recounts a harrowing personal experience with a sudden, debilitating illness in Havana, suspecting a mosquito-borne virus amidst a worsening epidemiological situation. The narrative begins with mild discomfort that rapidly escalates into severe headaches, fever, and physical distress, leaving the author struggling to speak and swallow.

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I get up and have a discomfort in my right shoulder. 'I must have slept in an incorrect position,' I tell myself.

"I get up and have a discomfort in my right shoulder. 'I must have slept in an incorrect position,' I tell myself," the author writes, detailing the initial dismissal of symptoms. By afternoon, the pain had spread, and by evening, intense headaches made sleep impossible. The author describes "stabbing" pains behind the eyes, forehead, cheeks, and ears, exacerbated by any movement.

The lack of basic medical supplies, including a thermometer and rehydration salts, compounds the distress. "I'm left with two doses of dipyrone, there's no thermometer, and the oral rehydration salts are already gone," the author notes, highlighting the scarcity of resources. The author's suspicion of a virus, possibly transmitted by a mosquito, grows as symptoms worsen.

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I'm left with two doses of dipyrone, there's no thermometer, and the oral rehydration salts are already gone.

The piece underscores the difficulty of preventing such illnesses in Havana, citing "mountains of garbage" and the absence of effective vector control campaigns. "All the precautions I've taken have been in vain," the author laments, concluding that despite efforts like citronella incense and repellent, the virus found a way in. The second day is described as the worst, with uncontrollable chills and body aches, leaving the author bedridden.

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All the precautions I've taken have been in vain.